Pasulj
A thick Balkan bean stew of white beans, onion, carrot and paprika, slow-cooked until creamy and smoky.
Photograph credit: Pasulj (10291319804) (image of Pasulj on Wikidata Q2056389) by Ivana Sokolović · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Give it time. Pasulj is the kind of stew that rewards patience, and an hour on a low heat turns plain white beans into a creamy pot with a thick, rich broth.
Tinned beans cut the cooking time, but a long simmer is still what thickens the broth and brings the flavours together. Start with onion and carrot, soften them in oil, then stir in the paprika off the heat. Paprika burns in seconds. It should dissolve into the oil, not fry in it, or the stew will taste bitter.
Add the beans, bay leaves and water, then simmer with the lid slightly ajar. As the beans soften, some break and thicken the liquid. If it thickens too early, add a splash of hot water.
A smoked sausage or a piece of smoked bacon is traditional and gives the pot its smoky depth. Leave it out and add a pinch of smoked paprika for a vegetarian version.
How to Make Pasulj
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Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onions and carrots for 8 minutes. Add the garlic for 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat.
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Stir in the paprika for 30 seconds, then return to the heat and add the beans, bay, water, salt and sausage.
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Bring to the boil, lower the heat, partly cover and simmer for 55 minutes, stirring now and then.
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Remove the bay. Mash a few beans against the pan to thicken the stew.
Worth Getting Right
- Take the pan off the heat before adding paprika.
- Keep the simmer low.
- Add hot water if the stew thickens too much.
- Leave out the sausage for a vegetarian stew.
Swaps and Variations
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
What to Serve With It
Crusty bread · Pickled peppers · Raw onion · Green salad
Storage
Keeps in the fridge for 4 days. It tastes better the next day.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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